This SU2C Colorectal Cancer Dream Team is focusing on three areas of research that have the potential to impact the treatment of all stages of colorectal cancer.
The first two areas of research examine the potential of immunotherapy and targeted therapy to revolutionize the treatment of colorectal cancer. The team will determine the mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapies and targeted therapies, and devise new strategies to overcome resistance.
The third area of study evaluates strategies to target different colorectal cancer subtypes. Specifically, two major subgroups of colorectal cancer—those with a mutation in the KRAS/BRAF gene, and those with a mutation in the PIK3CA gene—are susceptible to high doses of vitamin C combined with depletion of a nutrient called glutamine.
In animal studies, drugs developed to target these vulnerabilities were able to slow down or cure colorectal cancers of the two subgroups. This team is evaluating whether these promising findings can be transposed to patients with similar genomic abnormalities.